The best single-volume on FDR's life now available

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	• FDR Jean Edward Smith Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2008 - 880 pages average customer review:based on 43 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

F.D.R. -- What a Person!

This biography is absolutely outstanding! Dr. Smith has provided incredible scholarship and depth on "who the man was" and done the same for many of the ancillary characters around F.D.R.. The book creates a stage for each of the phases of F.D.R.'s life, that presents the strengths and the flaws in a way that makes the man believable -- and lovable even 60 years after his death. Each chapter presents a unit of F.D.R.'s life, and each chapter is inspiring in its own right.
It's a long book, but I wish that every school could make it available to inspire students, not only for the courage that the man exhibited, but the wonderful humanity with which F.D.R. went out of his way to meet all kinds of Americans and touch their personhood. A rare man -- who should be an exemplar for this day and age.

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An excellent condensed version for the audiobook

The condensed audiobook version of Smith's book on FDR is first rate. The reading is first rate, too. It would have been nice to actually hear FDR's own voice when his speeches are quoted, but that's a minor point. The ten hours of CDs, covered on eight discs went by very fast, without any boring periods, as Smith has a knack for picking out the most poignant quotes and primary source facts. So, although there are many, many periods of FDR's life and times which would make great topics for large books--getting out of the Great Depression, WW II, FDR's early life, FDR's medical conditions, his relationship with Eleanor, etc--this condensed version provided a spot-on, easily digested run down of FDR's entire life. I couldn't have asked for anything better.

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Useful FDR biography

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was such a remarkable man who served as President during such a remarkable time, that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between biography and hagiography. Jean Edward Smith's "FDR" comes perilously close to being hagiography. But it is also a superior one-volume biography of one of the greatest men in American history.

There is nothing new in this biography. Everything here has been written about previously by other authors. What Smith, much to his credit, does is to bring it all together in an eminently readable volume. This would be a near ideal place for anyone wanting to improve their understanding of 20th Century American history to begin, for Roosevelt's Presidency covered the most important years and events of the century.

Political partisans will find much to criticize since Smith avoids some - but certainly not all - of the aspects of Roosevelt's political life that are arguable. On the whole though, Smith is to be commended for producing a comprehensive biography.

It's a solid effort easily on a par with Conrad Black's effort of a few years back. Like Lincoln, Roosevelt is the subject of thousands of books. While Smith's biography won't stop anyone from writing yet another, this is an excellent overall biography of the man.

Jerry

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Brief Historical Note

Concerning FDR's problem with immigration laws (cf. congress bill of 1924, etc.): in 1944 he did arrange that 982 European refugees from concentration camps and persecution be admitted as his "guests" to the U.S. See www.oswegohaven.org for the amazing story and the memorial museum in Oswego, NY. For more info contact the current president of the Safe Haven organization (Elizabeth Kahl) at eakahl@syr.edu.

The best single-volume on FDR's life now available

Smith's volume on U.S. Grant was one of the finest biographies I have ever read, a truly masterful work, which led me enthusiastically to his new book on FDR. While the FDR biography contains few new revelations for true Roosevelt devotees, it is a superb work and a "must read" for anyone with an interest in the man or his times. Finely researched, beautifully written and nicely balanced, it is the best single-volume modern biography of Roosevelt now available.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, page 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

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